Buffering
by the pick-it fence
Summary: After waking from a coma, Daisy suddenly changes her ways due to a mysterious force that has found a way to escape. Happy with her new ways, she refuses to stop. The only person that can help her, is the one who brought this upon her. Will she change or stay with her new accomplice? "Add a little spice to your life. It'll take you places."
1. Chapter 1

**Warning: Mild violence, adult themes, slight cursing, and horrible humor that I tried hard to put in. **

* * *

**Buffering**

** Chapter 1-**

The world was surrounded in darkness. It was black, empty, and in ruins. There was nothing to help it, for this was fate. Sarsaland was under attack by an old foe, but he came prepared this time. UFOs circled the skies, firing at the castle. Alien recruits fired at hostiles, making it almost impossible to breach their defenses. Worst of all, Tatanga was sitting on the throne, casually laughing at his work. It was an obvious success, since that red fellow didn't appear; whatever his name was. The king was tied, along with his beloved daughter, and tossed carelessly into the musty tower that had an outlook of the entire kingdom. Other alien recruits watched the royals' every move, listened to their every word, and took note of their every breath, expecting it to be their last. Daisy had no choice but to wait, and hope. Mario had saved her once before, but under normal conditions, not under a whole fleet of alien bastards. Tatanga wanted nothing more than the deed to the kingdom and the hand of Daisy herself. After locking her up before, he grew fond of the princess. He decided to take the kingdom and allow Daisy to rule alongside him, but only if she behaved; which she never did. Thinking that was a foolish choice, he locked the two up, promising to release them after they came to their senses. The king and princess were conscious of their decision, knowing that no good would come if they gave the kingdom up to Tatanga. Ever since then, Sarsaland has been under attack. All the civilians had to hide in the shadows and keep knowledge to themselves, or else.

Daisy looked out the small hole in the wall, that not even a rat could crawl through, and made a small prayer. _Please…find us soon, and then…kill them. Kill them all._

* * *

Mario and Luigi hid by the alleyway, keeping the briefcase close to them. Mario peered over the cracked edge of the brick wall. "The entire place is covered." He whispered to his brother.

"That's why I brought this." Luigi tapped lightly on the briefcase.

"If we destroy one, then they all fall down."

"But do you think it's a good idea to do this? The whole kingdom could suffer from it."

"Stop complaining." Mario rolled his eyes.

Mario kept his head down and sneaked over to an old fruit cart. He turned over to Luigi and signaled for the case. He slid it quickly over. Mario snapped it open, taking another quick look around for any guards watching. The small cannon slipped perfectly into his fingers as he loaded it. "Go for the shed, but be careful." Luigi mouthed. Mario didn't heed his brother's warning and turned directly to the heavily guarded castle. The shed held all the explosives, so if one exploded, so did the others.

Mario laid his finger on the trigger as the cannon expanded. "Ready…" The Bullet Bill was ready as he aimed for the shed. "Aim…" He slowly pulled the trigger back. "Fire."

The shed erupted into flames, making the mines around it go off as well. One by one, the aliens fell. The castle shook since the bottom floor was nothing but old foundation now. The tower leaned side to side. Daisy tried to stand up, but her hands were chained to the wall. She pulled with all her might, but to no avail. She could hear the towers creek as they leaned forward. Her heart paced rapidly as she heard the bricks crumble under all the friction and weight of the castle. Mario and Luigi quickly backed away, both blaming this on each other. Soon, they could hear the tower fall unevenly to the sandy earth.

The world was quiet.

Mario ran back to the fallen tower, tossing broken bricks back. He could feel that the sharp debris was cutting through his knees and hands. It took a moment for Luigi to register this in his mind. Daisy could possibly be dead. It took Mario's demanding voice for him to help his brother look through the fallen tower.

After a few minutes time, Mario found the king, almost suffocated and dead. He coughed up sand and grabbed Mario by his shirt, asking frantically about his daughter. Luigi kept his eyes on the bricks and tried to hold back his tears. If Mario had already found the king, then Daisy should have been easy to find as well.

But what if Luigi couldn't find her? What if he was too late?

Daisy was the only person that really respected Luigi as a human being. She showed him kindness, compassion, and sometimes, affection. Others would mostly look down on the man, making him feel worthless and pathetic, but Daisy could almost see from his point of view, which is what really made her important to him.

As he tossed a brick out of the way, he saw a tanned hand. His heart leaped with both fear and excitement. He removed the rest of the debris and found Daisy's unmoving body. He called the king and Mario over as they all moved her away from the destruction.

"Is she breathing?" The king asked, still frantic.

Luigi gently pressed two fingers to her wrist, feeling for a pulse. It was slow, but he recognized the steady beat. "S-she…She's not here."

"What?" Mario slapped his brother out of the way and felt for pulse on his own. He felt the same thing as his brother and stepped away.

"What?" The king grabbed Mario by the shirt once again. "What is wrong with my daughter?!"

"We need to get her to a hospital." Mario said, pushing the king away.

"She's in a coma." Luigi finished meekly.

He never thought he would have to say that in his life, but this was happening. This was reality. Daisy wouldn't wake up now for a good while. He could only pray that she was in a better place.

* * *

"Where am I?" Daisy sat up from the cold hard ground.

The world around her was a hellish color. It was quiet, but it felt as if a crowd was watching her. But she was all alone…until a voice responded.

"Where aren't you?"

Daisy immediately jumped to her feet. She balled her fists. "Who are you?"

A black shadow figure appeared. It looked like a man dressed in all black with white eyes, hidden by a thin, black mist. "Who am I not?"

"Stop playing with me!" She tried to sound confident, but she sounded as scared as she really was. "Where am I and who are you?"

"Do you really want to know?"

"Yes." She almost regretted saying that, but she wanted answers.

The figure was indeed a man. He wore all black and his eyes were covered by a black mask, which made his eyes turn mystifyingly white. He wore a grin on his face and had a well-groomed mustache. The man looked familiar as well.

"L-Luigi?" Daisy sputtered.

The man simply laughed. His terrifying laugh echoed through the walls of the never ending room. "My sweet darling, I am not Luigi. I am FAR from Luigi."

"Then what is your name?"

He sighed and began to pace around her. "I have so many names. Why would I choose one?"

"It's easier to keep track of." She replied.

The man walked closer to her and kept that taunting smirk on his disguised face. "You haven't changed, have you?" He put gloved hand gently up to her face and raked his fingers through her brown hair.

"LEAVE HER ALONE!" Another male voice cried.

They both turned to face it. Now this was defiantly Luigi. He looked exactly the same, but he had a more heavenly glow around him.

"You always stop my fun." The darkened man scowled.

"Don't listen to him, Daisy. He's nothing but trouble."

She began to pull at her hair. "Who are you people?!"

The two men stepped back. The darkened one spoke first. "I am your darkened thoughts."

The lightened man spoke next. "I am your lightened thoughts."

Daisy relaxed her shoulders in surprise. "What?"

"Daisy," The lightened one spoke, "This is the deeper part of your mind, for we are you conscious."

"What?" Daisy repeated.

"You know," The darkened turned her head back to him, "Your decisions to do right or wrong, good or bad, blah, blah, blah."

"But then why do you both look like Luigi…?"

"Your darkest thoughts mostly concern him."

"As do your lighter thoughts." The lightened one added calmly.

Daisy glanced at the floor. It was the same color as the rest of the world; a hellish black and red. This wasn't what she thought her mind would look like at all. There was an unearthly feeling to the world, which was far from Daisy's actual personality. However, the design of her mind was not too important at the moment.

"Does that answer all your questions, sweet cheeks?" The darkened one summoned a chair-like figure. He sat down and leaned back, putting his hands behind his head. The lightened one narrowed his eyes at his cocky counterpart.

Daisy still had many questions, but there was no use in asking them all. There was one question that she desperately wanted an answer to, though. She looked over to the lightened one. "W-why am I here?"

He began to speak, but stopped himself. "Come with me."

Daisy followed him closely as they walked farther into the world. "We cannot see all you see," He explained, "But we can hear all you hear. This allows us to make decisions between your wants and needs. After the attack, the tower fell to the ground. Your father is perfectly fine, but…" His voice trailed off. Daisy couldn't help but stare at the angelic glow emanating off him.

"What?" She managed, meeting his eyes.

He sighed softly. "Listen closely."

The world was silent for a few moments before Daisy could hear something. It was a repetitive beeping noise. Every second it would sound. Daisy had heard the beeping many times before when she had a horrible stomach flu years ago. Everything was suddenly clear.

"Think of it as a deep sleep." He tried to console her. "Until you wake up, you'll be in your own mind."

* * *

**Another story? MOST UNORTHODOX! **

**Most of my stories are just for funzies though. This one is more serious, but it's bland idea. If you guys want another chapter, let me know by leaving a little comment or review or whatever. I really don't mind if I continue this story or not. I'll only write it if you wanna hear / read it. **

**Also, the beginning was mostly inspired by Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, because I just beat the game yesterday. A girl playing CoD? THE END OF THE WORLD IS UPON US! No, no, don't worry. So, if the beginning is more like a war zone, you know why. **

**Click the profile for more stories that I have done and I will see YOU...in the next update! BYE-BYE!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2-**

_Beep_

_Beep_

_Beep_

_Beep_

Mario paced back and forth in front of the door to the guest room Daisy was resting in. Luigi leaned on the wall, trying to stay calm. He knew he was horrible at hiding his emotions, but trying not to react to anything made him seem calm. However, Mario could read his brother like a book.

"This is all my fault, isn't it?" Mario asked, mumbling.

There was a stern silence as Luigi considered his words. The repeating beep was still blaring in the other room.

"There's no use in blaming yourself." Luigi finally stated. "It doesn't change the past."

"I know, but…"

"And you were technically doing what was right," He interjected, "You just did it the wrong way."

"I didn't mean to hurt her…I didn't even expect it."

Luigi remembered the warning he gave Mario before he blew the castle to kingdom come. _Go for the shed, but be careful. _Mario never took his brother's warnings seriously. It was a habit that he needed to change, but it was one out of the many.

"No one did." Luigi replied, his voice sounding distant and faint.

With that, the door opened. A Toad doctor stepped out, a bland expression on his face. Luigi looked up while Mario looked away. Peach stepped out beside the doctor, along with Daisy's father. The king looked at them all, nodded, and then left, without another word. No one saw his expression clearly, but they could see he wanted to be alone.

"How is she?" Luigi asked, breaking the stillness of the hall.

The doctor looked down at his clipboard, and then turned back to the beeping machine. The digital green lines swayed up and down, which was the sign of a normal heart rate. "She's in a coma." The doctor said, turning back to them.

_I know,_ Luigi thought, _Next thing you're going to tell me is that she's a girl. _He scolded himself quietly for the sarcastic comment. Inside him, Mr. L was trying to find ways to break out and so far, he was gradually winning. The more stress Luigi went through, the weaker his mind was, thus enabling Mr. L to escape.

"I believe they mean if she will be okay." Peach corrected politely.

"Oh! Right…" The doctor flipped to another page, "She'll wake up in a few days…"

Mario looked over to him. This was good news.

"IF she gets the right treatment. Without it, she'll probably stay in the same state that she's already in…_forever_." He put emphasis on the word forever as if he was trying to sound dramatic.

Mario turned away.

"What kind of treatment?" Peach looked over at Mario.

"Uh…She'll need to be checked on every hour and she'll need to be resting at all times. The good news is that she's able to move certain parts of her body already, so she's making a fast recovery. And she can hear, but can't respond."

After a few moments of silence, Peach thanked the doctor and showed him back to his quarters. She silently sat on one of the chairs outside of Daisy's guest room that Peach had let Daisy stay in whenever she was staying in the Mushroom Kingdom. The door was open and the beeping was louder. The three didn't speak for the longest time. They didn't even look at each other.

Peach hated the silence and she tried to think of something that could get them talking again. "At least she'll be okay…" Her voice suddenly trailed off and she began to cry- right in front of the brothers. Peach was a damsel and she was weak, but she would never cry in front of people. "I-I'm s-s-sorry, I-I just…" She couldn't speak anymore. She hid her face in her thighs and continued to cry.

"I don't want to do this anymore." Mario felt his eyes begin to water, but he bit his lip, forcing himself to stop. As he tasted his own blood from his lip, he walked away from the two. He headed for a vacant guest room so he could lock himself in the bathroom and cry in peace.

Luigi expected himself to cry along with the others, but he just stood there. He looked into the room Daisy was settled in and he slowly walked in. His spine suddenly tingled with the feeling that he was trespassing. The machine blared every second, in rhythm with his heart and hers.

Daisy looked so peaceful- as if she were in a fairy tale gone horribly wrong and was twisted every which way. Luigi could see that a stitched line crossed from her shoulder to the top part of her chest. He couldn't tell if it continued any farther, because the hospital dress covered most of her body, and frankly, he wasn't ready to find out. He recalled what the doctor had said about how she could hear and how she could move certain parts of her body.

"Hey." Luigi said softly. He felt insane for talking to Daisy while she was still in a coma; it was like he was talking to himself. "I hope you remember who I am, because if you don't you'll wake up thinking that a pedophile was talking to you…What the heck did I just say?"

Peach looked up at Luigi. Her eyes were a light shade of pink from all the crying she had done. She looked at him suspiciously and stood up.

He pulled the chair next to the machine closer to Daisy's bed. He sat down and tried to correct himself. "What I mean is: if you lost your memory because of this whole thing, it would be horrible because you'd forget all the fun times we had together." He cringed, thinking that he said the wrong thing. "I mean, not just us…Even though we did have a lot of fun times together. No, wait…I mean…I mean, I love you…No!" He slammed his palm on his forehead. "I'm such a loser. I really hope you can't hear this. I mean, not like I don't want you to hear this…No...Wait, yes…Wait…"

Peach couldn't help but giggle and let a tear roll at the same time. Luigi turned back to her. "I've lost it, haven't I?"

"All the best people do." She walked closer.

Luigi gave a slanted smile and turned back to Daisy. He almost expected her eyes to be open, but he knew it wouldn't happen this soon. He gently put his fingers on her open hand. Her fingers twitched as they slowly closed around his.

* * *

The lightened one glared at his counterpart. "You have no respect for her, do you?"

"All I said was that love is overrated." The darkened one crossed his arms. "You need to stop being so…snooty."

"I am not snooty!" The lightened one whined.

Daisy lay on the floor, her hands thrown over her chest. She breathed heavily, and smiled. The lightened one was right. She had heard everything that had happened in the past hour. She heard the annoying beep of the machine, she heard the doctor taking oral notes on her condition, she heard Peach crying (which almost made Daisy want to cry herself), and, her favorite part, she heard Luigi talking to her.

He was indeed insane, through Daisy's eyes.

But, he was still the same person she had befriended years ago. Being locked in her mind, she ironically had more time to think. She thought about all Luigi had said and laughed over how he fumbled over his thoughts and words. However, one part shone out through everything else. Those five words he mumbled: _I mean, I love you…_

Daisy knew that Luigi had certain feelings for her; feelings above friendship and care. He never could admit it in public, nor to Daisy herself. He had tried before, but failed, making Daisy have to hush him so she could just watch the moon reflect over the lake in peace. It must have been the fact that she was in a coma that made Luigi think he could finally say it.

Once he did, he stopped himself and continued to blabber like an idiot. Daisy stood back at that moment and gasped softly. "I love you too." She heard herself say. She passed it off as one of her reflexes, like how when someone asked for something, she automatically said "Okay." However, Daisy didn't completely consider it a reflex yet.

She wondered if she actually meant it.

* * *

**OKAY! I'll just be posting the first two chapters and I want you guys to tell me if you want it to continue. Like I've said, I don't mind if you do or don't, but I just want to know. Leave a comment or review and remember: This is NOT the last chapter to this story. There are more chapters, but I want to know if more than one of you want to read it. **

**Click my profile for more stories that I've written and as always, I will see YOU...in the next update. BYE-BYE! **


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3-**

The sun had set, closing the troubling day. Luigi and Peach remained in Daisy's room, just watching her. Every now and again, they would speak, but no more than two sentences. The beep echoed through the room as Peach watched the sky turn black through the wide window. The summer skies were mostly like this, pitch black, but with bright stars peppered across. She stood up and walked to the closet, without speaking of course. Luigi kept his eyes on Daisy, making subtle wishes in his mind that she would wake up faster. Peach walked back with a wool blanket and a pillow. She suddenly broke the silence.

"I assume that you'll be staying here for the night." Not bothering for a response, she handed him the blanket and pillow. "I'll see if Mario will finally talk to us, or at least me."

Luigi looked back at Daisy's pale face. "Guilt."

"Pardon?"

"He feels guilty for doing this. Mario didn't want this to happen to her, but since it did, he feels responsible for it. It isn't his fault, but I just wish he would listen."

Peach nodded. "I have never seen that in him before."

"He's a master at hiding emotions." Luigi recalled. "It wasn't his fault though, and make sure he understands that."

Peach nodded again. She looked at Daisy one last time before quietly leaving the room. Luigi turned back to Daisy and leaned in closer to her. "Goodnight, princess." He moved strands of her hair out of her face before turning the lights off. He sat back in the chair and tried to fall asleep. The stupid beeping noise kept him up, but he didn't mind too much. He looked out the window and looked for shooting stars. As one shot through the sky, he crossed his fingers and made a wish. He turned back to Daisy excitedly, but as he thought, she wasn't awake.

_I really am insane. _He said to himself, and then smiled. He sighed and repeated the wishing routine for another hour before he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Minutes after Peach left Daisy's room, she began to search the hallways for the guest room Mario locked himself in.

Peach knocked on a guest room door. "Hello?"

No response.

She moved to the next door and repeated herself.

Nothing.

She tried the last door in the hallway. As she knocked, the door slid open, letting the hall lights flood into the dark room. The bathroom door, however, was locked, but the light was on. She walked in gracefully, making her way towards the bathroom door. "Mario?"

A loud thump was heard from behind the door. "Ow! Shit!"

"Mario, can you please come out?"

He faked a cough. "Agh, I don't think so. I have a horrible cough." He forced himself to cough again. "I don't want you to, you know, catch it or anything."

"Mario," Peach crossed her arms, "You can't hide in there forever."

"Yes I can! Just watch me…Wait, I need food. DARN! Okay Peach, you'll have to leave a tray of food for me by the desk over there and I'll get it after you leave."

"Mario!"

"Alright, alright, I'll come out…After you leave."

"Please come out, Mario. For me."

"Uhh, you know, I'd love to, but…"

"Fine." The princess huffed, "We'll just talk like this."

"What?"

She sat down on the bed and straightened out her dress. She heard Mario sigh from behind the door. A click sounded as the door knob twisted. Mario stepped out and leaned on the door frame. "I thought you weren't coming out." Peach gave him a smirk.

He sighed again.

"There's no reason to be harsh, Mario. I just wanted to tell you something." She stood up and walked closer to him. "It's not your fault. Nothing is your fault. You were just protecting her, and I respect you for that. You don't need to blame yourself for this."

He looked away from her glance. "I know." He whispered.

"Then why are you blaming yourself?" She gently turned his head back to hers.

"I…I don't know."

She rubbed his shoulder and kissed him daintily on his forehead. He gave her a slanted smile before she left the room.

* * *

The night carried on, one hour turning into another. Luigi had ignored the beeping sound and finally fell asleep.

After an hour or so, he heard furniture shifting in the room. His eyes popped open as he looked at Daisy. She was still "sleeping", so it couldn't have been her. Maybe Peach or Mario had stepped in to check on them, but Luigi didn't recognize the figure he saw as one of them. The black figure sat at the edge of Daisy's bed, rubbing her legs. Luigi fumed and stormed over to the figure. "Get your hands off her!" He tried to push the figure to the floor, but his hand went directly through it. Luigi gasped and stood back as the figure rose.

"She's a beauty, Luigi. A true work of art." The figure sounded almost like Luigi, but much more seducing and devious.

"No…" Luigi shook his head and began to walk back towards the window.

"She wants a real man, don't you agree?"

"Shut up, Mr. L…You're…You're not real! You don't know what you're talking about!"

Mr. L laughed manically. "Is that all I am to you? A figment of your imagination? An imaginary play-mate that thinks for himself?"

"You're just a part of me; you're not a person, but I am!" Luigi was now backed up against the window. He didn't understand why he was scared over Mr. L, but he was and if he made a wrong move, he could fall three stories to his death.

"Ah yes, but when you think about something long enough, it happens. So, since you've been trying to lock me away, I've been plotting to get out. Well, here I am, but there's a slight problem."

"W-what p-p-problem?"

"There seems to be one girl," He pointed to Daisy, "And two men who want her. Huh, that's a brain teaser."

"N-no. Y-you can't do this!" Luigi tried to back farther away, but he heard the window cracking under the pressure.

"But, with every riddle, comes an answer." Mr. L walked closer to Luigi. "I'm deeply sorry, Luigi."

"Get away from me!"

Mr. L pressed his hands against Luigi's chest. "Well, not deeply…but, it's been fun. I'll see you in hell soon enough."

He pushed Luigi hard enough so that the window broke open. Luigi tried to grab Mr. L, but his hands went straight through him. The last thing Luigi saw was the taunting smirk that only Mr. L could provide. After that, Luigi smelled blood in the air, and then the world before him melted into darkness.

* * *

Luigi woke up screaming. He calmed himself down and looked around the room. The window was still intact, the door was closed like it was last night, Daisy still had her clothes on…Everything was in order. He took three deep breaths before he adjusted Daisy's pillows.

There was a knock on the door and Peach called if she could come in. Luigi opened the door as she walked in.

"Did she move at all?" Peach walked closer to Daisy's bed.

"I don't think so. Probably a twitch or two, but nothing more."

"You weren't up all night?" Peach looked across at Luigi.

"No. Did Mario say anything?" Luigi replied quickly, changing the subject.

"He didn't say much, but I think he knows not to blame it on himself."

"Good."

He said nothing more. Peach suddenly wondered if all was okay with him. She asked the question politely and Luigi claimed he was fine. Explaining what happened the night before would take too much time and he didn't want to play therapy right now.

"Breakfast is ready." Peach finally said.

"Oh, that's fine. I'm…uhh, I'm not that hungry." Luigi declined.

"Should I bring a tray then?"

"No, no, it's…it's fine. Really."

Peach nodded. "If you need anything, I'll be in library."

She left quietly as Luigi sat back down. His stomach growled as he groaned. He was starving, but he didn't feel like eating. Why did he lie? He knew he was hungry, but he didn't want to leave Daisy alone- not for a single second. After last night, he didn't want to risk leaving Daisy alone and unprotected.

* * *

Daisy played around with the black shadow mist that covered the covered the floor. She had managed to morph it into different shapes and things, but they only lasted for a few seconds. After her perfect rectangle disappeared, she tried thinking of another object to make.

"Did you hear that wuss screaming?" The darkened one laughed. "He's pathetic. Does he always wake up screaming?"

Daisy glared at him. "No, he does not."

"I don't get what you see in him."

"You don't need to." The lightened one sat cross-legged on the floor.

"Good." The darkened one sneered. "I don't want to know."

The lightened one sighed and continued to mediate. The darkened one sat next to Daisy.

"Don't worry, in about two days, you'll be out of here."

"Good. I don't want to stay here any longer. My conscious are annoying."

"It wouldn't be annoying if I ruled your mind."

"What?" Daisy turned to him, letting the shadow sphere drop to the floor and fade along with the mist.

"If you lived more like the light guy over there, then he would have more control over this place. If you lived more like me, then I would have more control of this place. Since you live pretty equal, we both get equal dominance."

The darkened one put her arm around her shoulder. "But you notice how this world is dark and bland? That all changes, depending on how you live your life. This could be a better place, if you took more risks and dared to do the impossible."

"What are you saying?" Daisy looked over at his masked face.

"I'm just saying that you need to be more like me."

"Are you telling me how to live my life?"

"Am I really?" His eyes met with hers. "Here you are, in a near death experience, and you might as well go back to living your life as it was. Think about it Daisy. After you wake up, you'll be stuck in this castle until your kingdom is repaired. What will you do? Nothing. Try to add some spice to your life…It'll take you places."

Daisy looked down and pressed her index fingers together. "I already have enough spice in my life."

"Just think about it. It can be fun." The darkened one rose and disappeared into the shadows.

The lightened one looked up at Daisy. "He's nothing but trouble, Daisy. Don't listen to him. He just wants to rule your mind and if he does, it will be bad news for everyone."

Daisy turned away from him and brushed her fingers across the ground. _Add some spice to my life? It wouldn't bring much, but…_

Daisy remembered how quiet her friends were the other day. They barely spoke, but she knew they had so much to say. She wasn't completely shocked though, after all, she was the loudest of the four. What would it be like if she changed her ways? What if she did add some spice to her life?

She just sat down and thought about it for the rest of the day.

* * *

"It's so quiet in there." Toadette whispered to Toad.

The two were out in the hall outside of Daisy's room. Peach had ordered them to make sure that everything was fine between Mario and Luigi, but they both wanted to see what Daisy looked like. Toads around the castle began to spread rumors that she had her whole face reconstructed and that she would never be the same again. Toad and Toadette wanted to see if the rumors were real, being as gullible as they were.

"I know. I can only hear beeping." Toad whispered back.

"Want to go in?"

"The door might be locked."

Toadette twisted the door knob and the door swung open. She smirked at Toad as he walked in. "There she is."

They both studied Daisy's unmoving body. She was neatly dressed in the hospital gown and she was tucked in perfectly- there was not a single wrinkle. Toadette gently poked Daisy's face for a response. "She's out cold." Toadette blurted.

"Yeah, I know. That's why they call it a coma. C stands for cold, O stands for out, M stands for medicine, and A stands for amnesia."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Don't doubt my intelligence!"

Toadette rolled her eyes and sat down on Daisy's bed. Toad tried to play around with the wires. "I wonder what that beeping thing does." Toad scanned over the beeping machine as Luigi walked quietly in.

"Press the button and shut it up!" Toadette barked. Toad nodded and looked over the buttons. Since the red button on the remote for the TV usually muted the sound, he thought that the red button on the machine would do the same.

Luigi run over to them and pulled them away from the machine before Toad could press the button. "Don't touch that!"

"Oh my gosh, I-I'm s-s-so s-s-sorry!" Toadette stammered.

"It's fine, just don't touch anything." Luigi looked over Daisy to see if she was still perfectly neat. Toad and Toadette had messed up the bed sheets, but everything else was still fine.

"We'll…We'll just go." Toad grabbed Toadette by the arm.

"But I wanted to see if she has any battle scars!" Toadette whispered. Toad hushed her, bowed, and left the room quickly.

Luigi sighed and straightened out everything. He wanted to make sure that everything was perfect in room so that if Daisy did happen to wake up early, everything would be in place. It was an odd habit of his- to clean things. But it got rid of stress, for some odd reason.

Suddenly, he felt someone breathing down his neck. He turned around and was face to face with Mr. L.

"I think you're done here." He said casually.

Before Luigi could respond, Mr. L picked him up and tossed him across the room. Luigi was set flying towards the other side and slammed into the wall. Mr. L walked closer to Daisy, his body surrounded by a black mist. The black mist began to circle around Daisy. "You had your chance, Luigi. She's mine now."

Luigi grabbed his shoulder and growled. "Get off her." He had managed between heavy breaths.

Mr. L gave him a taunting laugh as Luigi fumbled to get up. "I'm almost free," Mr. L began to fade away, "Don't forget that."

Luigi ran over to him and prepared to tackle him to the ground. Mr. L disappeared along with the black mist around Daisy.

Luigi stopped in his tracks._ He's not real. He's gone now…_Luigi looked over at Daisy as her hand twitched. _He wants her…badly._ Luigi scowled and punched the wall. "He can't have her…Not now, not ever."

Mario walked in and laughed. "I remember fighting my first wall. Ah, memories."

Luigi turned around and rubbed his knuckles. "Did you just come here to mock me?"

"No…I just wanted to…"

"Wanted to…?"

"Is she alright?" Mario quickly said, relived that the question was off his chest.

"She's…She's fine." Luigi hesitated. Fine wasn't the right word, but he knew that she would wake up soon.

"What about you?"

Luigi rubbed his neck. "I-I'm fine, too."

Mario nodded and turned back to the door. Before he walked out, his brother stopped him. "Why do you care?" Luigi said faintly. Mario never usually asked how Luigi was on a regular basis. Nor did he ever take interest in what Luigi was doing. The sudden question made Luigi wonder if Mario was okay himself.

Mario turned back to his brother and smiled. He didn't say another word, leaving Luigi in peace, exiting the room as quietly as he came in.

* * *

**That was chapter 3. Thanks for the few people who wanted this to continue and the many more that probably also wanted it to continue! Thanks you so much for the support! Leave any comments or reviews for me down below, because I always appreciate it!**

**Click my profile for more stories that I've done and as always, I will see YOU...in the next update! BYE-BYE!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Luigi had guarded Daisy day and night for three days. Since the Mr. L hallucinations became more frequent, he was almost scared to go to sleep. Every time he closed his eyes, he could see Mr. L hypnotizing Daisy and claiming her for himself. It gave him the chills to think about it. Mr. L was trapped in the darkest part of Luigi's mind. How could he have found a way out?

The Toad doctor walked in, looking at his clipboard squarely. "Alright," He mumbled.

"Is it time?" Peach stood up. Luigi remained in his seat and held Daisy's hand.

"Yes." The doctor looked up. "I'm going to need you two to leave."

"Why?" Luigi said softly.

"Medical procedures and all that. It would be best if you see her after she's awake."

Peach walked over to Luigi, putting her hand out. "Come now." She ordered gracefully.

Luigi tried to move away from Daisy, but his hand was still in her firm grasp. He tried to pull away from it, but she held his hand tightly, refusing to let go. He looked over at her and she gave a small moan. Luigi walked closer to her. "I promise I'll be back," He whispered to her, "Don't forget me."

Daisy's hand slowly unfolded around Luigi's. He pulled his hand back and turned back to Peach. She nodded and they both left the room. The doctor closed the door, leaving the two in the hall.

"I hope she wakes up okay." Peach folded her hands together.

"I hope she wakes up." Luigi stiffened at the thought of her never seeing the light of day again. The very thought of never seeing her conscious again, of her never seeing anyone outside her own mind, of her never experiencing the rest of her young life. Luigi forced the terrible thought away.

Mario walked over to them and leaned on the wall. "Today's the day."

"Yes." Peach bit the inside of her cheek.

"Her dad won't talk to anyone." Mario blurted. The other two looked at him, invested in the new subject. "He always stands by the hill and stares off towards Sarsaland. He won't speak, he won't eat, and he won't move…He won't do anything."

"Well, he did almost lose his kingdom and almost lost his daughter. I would much prefer to be alone if that were to happen to me." Peach kindly stated.

"I suppose." Mario sighed and glanced at the floor.

The conversation subsided, leaving the three in the now common silence.

* * *

The lightened one stood next to Daisy. "You're going to wake up in a matter of minutes."

"I know." She nodded.

"Be careful out there and don't get yourself into trouble, or else you'll end up back here, forever."

"What do you mean?"

"You were badly hurt once, if it happens again, then you'll end up in your own mind. That's what happens when you die."

"Die?" She gasped.

"Oh, I didn't mean to frighten you."

"No, it's fine."

The darkened one appeared next to her. "Take care, sweet cheeks."

Daisy scoffed at him and turned to the lightened one. He nodded and snapped his fingers. A white angelic glow circled around Daisy, making her slowly fade away. The darkened one smiled as he walked behind her. He brushed his finger across the white force field, making it have a black swirl to it.

The lightened one pushed him back. "Stop that!"

The darkened one laughed. "You always stop my fun."

Daisy already returned to the real world and was unaware of what the darkened one had just done. The two glared at each other.

"I was only helping her make a choice." The darkened one claimed.

"Well, good job. Now she'll stay on the edge much more often." The lightened one began to smile.

* * *

The doctor let the three come into the room. Daisy was straightening out her hair.

"Here she is." The doctor left them in the room to check more stats in his office.

Daisy looked up from the mirror. "Hi."

"How are you feeling, Daisy?" Peach asked excitedly.

"Good." Daisy flipped her hair.

"Do you know who we are?" Peach questioned. Mario sighed. "What? It's possible that she could have lost some memory in the process."

"Let's see." Daisy looked over the three. She pointed to Mario and said his name perfectly. She pointed to Peach and announced her full name "Princess Peach Toadstool." She then pointed to Luigi and stammered. "Okay…I know this one, wait…wait…" She snapped her fingers. "Charlie." The three shook their heads.

"Steven."

Luigi frowned and shook his head. Daisy crawled closer to him. "I know you from somewhere…I swear, I saw you that one time…Where was it?"

She looked around. "I think it was the meeting for gullible people." She smiled and hugged him. "Thanks, Luigi, for everything."

"See, she remembers everything." Mario nudged Peach.

"I was just looking out for her." Peach insisted.

Daisy let go of Luigi and sat down cross-legged. "So, what are we doing now?"

"What are we doing?" Peach gasped. "You just woke up from a coma. _We _aren't doing anything until you're fully rested."

"But mother!" Daisy whined playfully.

"She's right." Luigi agreed. "You should really take a break. But you can move around."

"I'd much rather you stay in bed, though."

"Well, give the girl some freedom." Luigi put his hands in his pockets.

"I don't know. What do you think, Mario?" Peach turned to Mario.

"What? Oh, uhh…yeah, whatever you say. Freedom and all that good stuff."

Peach rolled her eyes. Daisy giggled. "Stay in your room, Daisy. It'll be easier to keep track of you that way."

"I'm not a dog." Daisy huffed, kicking her way into the bed sheets.

"We'll be back soon." Peach grabbed Mario and headed towards the door. They bowed and left.

"So, what's new?" Daisy asked, reaching for a magazine that was placed on her table.

"Did you hear what I said…before?"

Daisy looked up from the pages and smiled. "All of it."

"I'm a klutz." Luigi sighed.

"A cute klutz, though." Daisy smiled. "It was sweet, what you said."

Luigi felt himself blush slightly. "I don't even remember half of what I said. I stammered too much."

"I remember every word of it." Daisy hopped closer to him from the bed. "You just need to stop being so nervous and tell me what you need to tell me."

He sighed again. "It's not as easy now, because you're conscious." He winced, "I mean, not like I have a problem with that. I-It's just that i-i-it's harder t-to talk to y-you when you're staring directly at me. It just…It just that…that I…"

"That you…?"

"That I…I…I'm a loser and you're this beautiful princess that I don't stand a chance with and did I just say that out loud?"

"Yes. Yes you did."

"See?! I'm pathetic!"

"No, you're not. You're just…"

"A loser? Stupid? Hopelessly in love?"

"Easily nervous."

Daisy's heart was beginning to pace as she decided her next words. She took his hand and smiled. "But it's okay, because I still lo…"

The doctor barged in the door and Daisy closed her mouth shut. "It's time to make some final checks and then you're done here."

Daisy nodded and looked at Luigi. "I'll see you later." He let go of her hand and left the room. Daisy's heart was still pacing rapidly as she thought about what could have happened if the doctor had just waited to come in.

* * *

"Everything looks normal, princess." He grabbed his clipboard.

"Great." She faked a smile. She wanted the doctor to leave as fast as possible.

"I request that you stay in your room for the next two days, though. You're body is still readjusting to everything."

Daisy nodded. The doctor gathered his things and left the room, closing the door behind him. "Finally." She hopped out of bed and raced into the bathroom. She looked into the mirror and played with her hair.

"Where are you off to? The doctor said to stay in bed." A voice chirped.

Daisy felt a hand hold her waist. A black mist manifested into a human-like figure that was standing behind her. She turned around to face the figure. "Who are you?"

"Your wildest dreams come true." He smirked.

"How did you even get in here," Daisy persisted, she ignored his previous comment; "The door never even opened and I didn't let you in here!"

"I let myself in, darling."

"Get away from me, freak!" Daisy tried to push him away, but her hands went straight through him. He laughed and made the entire room go dark. Daisy tried to back away, but something stopped her from doing so. The man came closer to her and set her on top of a table that he summoned. "I'll scream!" Daisy tried to sound confident, but she sounded as scared as she was.

"Scream as much as you want, no one can hear you." The man growled in her ear.

Daisy opened her mouth to scream, but nothing came out. She remained with her jaw open and the man took the advantage to kiss her. She suddenly didn't feel the urge to refuse.

"Add a little spice to your life," The man said after moving away from the kiss, "It'll take you places."

Everything automatically disappeared after he had said those words. Daisy felt her mouth heat up caused by the taste of spices. She jumped down from the marble bathroom counter top and rinsed her mouth with water. The taste of the hot spices wouldn't leave her tongue. She sighed and looked back in the mirror. Instead of seeing her reflection, she saw her face hidden by a black mask.

Her eyes were white and her warm smile had turned into a taunting smirk. Daisy gasped and stepped back. The strange Daisy look-alike laughed mechanically.

"Daisy?" Luigi's voice called.

The figure in the mirror disappeared and left Daisy speechless. After a few minutes, she ran over to the door and opened it. She wrapped Luigi in her arms and dug her face in his chest. "I don't understand…I don't…" She whispered hoarsely. "Something bad is going to happen to me."

Luigi instantly knew what she was talking about. Mr. L must have made it known to her that he was coming for her and her only. "No," Luigi whispered back, "Nothing bad will happen to you. I promise."

But Daisy knew that Luigi wasn't completely capable of performing that act for her. Protecting someone is easier said than done.

* * *

**That was pretty dramatic. I tried to add more fluff, but from here on out, it'll be a little more physical. **

**Have you come to a conclusion? Did you find out who's behind all this mess? Leave a comment or review and see if you were spot on or way off. **

**Click my profile for more stories that I've done! Leave a comment, review, follow, favorite, whatever, and I will see YOU...in the next update! BYE-BYE!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Being redundant will get you nowhere in life. You are simply repeating what you have just said in the past. However, there is a trick to being redundant.

Patience.

Planning your every word before you say it and when you say it. The stereotypical villains will repeat themselves on a regular basis, but it's the smart villains- the sly villains- who will get away with repetitiveness. If they had said something before killing the antagonist, then they might say it again once going against the hero's son. This trick has been effective in many cases, since the hero never returns to his family to hear what the villain had to say before disposing of his rival.

Mr. L is smart. It doesn't take long to figure that out, unless you are an idiot. If you are, and you are in his away, he will get rid of you swiftly and with haste. When he was master of Luigi's body, he took joy out of people's pain. If he saw you shivering in the corner, he would guffaw and take you out with a mere snap of your neck. After being defeated, he remained in Luigi's mind, locked away forever with Luigi's darker thoughts.

After a year or two, Luigi began to notice something. He would see a shadow, but this shadow was well defined from most human shadows. It's smeared yellow belt circled around it's waist; it's black clothing covering it's physique, which looked strangely like Luigi's; it's white, horrifying eyes. The white eyes that stared into Luigi's very soul and seemed to read his every thought. Fortunately, it would appear and disappear, as quickly as it came.

Unfortunately, each time it appeared, it stayed longer and longer. For these very minutes, the two would not move. Luigi would try not to breathe, while the shadow kept staring at him. This would only happen when Luigi was alone, and when the shadow stayed longer, it would only disappear before another person was about to walk in.

Luigi knew that Mr. L was trying to escape. Trying to find a new body to posses and call his own. As far as Luigi was concerned, that was not going to happen.

The month that Luigi and Daisy became close friends, Mr. L began talking to his counterpart. These conversations never worked in Luigi's favor, since Mr. L constantly ended with him speaking the last word.

The shadow appeared one night. Luigi was sitting on his bed, as if he was expecting it. He felt the bed shake as if someone had sat down. He looked next to him and sighed.

"Why do you taunt me?" Luigi turned away, hoping not to catch a glimpse of Mr. L's eyes.

"Always with the questions, Luigi." Mr. L retorted. Not leaving time for a response, he pushed on. "With every riddle…there comes an answer."

"Riddles are meant to be fun. Questions are meant to be answered. Now, answer me."

Mr. L stood up. Silence spread quickly through the room. He didn't look back at Luigi; he kept his eyes locked on a picture on top of Luigi's dresser. It was Mario, Peach, Daisy, and Luigi -all four of them- smiling and having fun. Mr. L held the picture in his hands, brushing his finger across the golden frame. He scratched a part of the picture and let it drop to the floor. The frame burst into pieces as the glass covered the area around the fallen picture. Luigi looked at the damage, but didn't speak.

"Fun." Mr. L repeated. He suddenly sounded sad, but Luigi didn't think that Mr. L could possibly have emotions. "You want to know why I do this? You want to know the reason behind these appearances that make you go mad?"

Mr. L moved his eyes back towards his rival. Luigi was nodding slowly.

"For the fun of it." Mr. L laughed and walked dangerously close to Luigi, making him back up in fear. "I like to see you cower like you do, but the reason why I'm here now…has changed."

"To w-what?" Luigi began to tremble as Mr. L zeroed in on him.

Mr. L leaned back, straightening out his spine. He smiled and closed his fist in front of Luigi. Luigi looked back up at him, his blue eyes looking naturally innocent. Mr. L opened his fist as daisy petals unfolded from his grip. "The girl."

Luigi scowled at him. "She's not yours to keep."

He dropped the petals to the floor. "She's not yours to keep, either, but that doesn't stop you…now does it?"

Mr. L walked back towards the picture. He picked it up, studying Daisy carefully. Luigi glanced at the floor, folding his hands together. "What do you think you're going to do?" Luigi heard himself say.

Mr. L looked back at him before scraping something on the picture with his finger. "Questions, Luigi. All the wrong questions."

"But not a single answer."

Mr. L stood still, ignoring Luigi's comment. "I'm going to do what I must."

"Not if I can stop it."

"You can't." Mr. L turned back to Luigi and laughed. "You don't have the guts."

Luigi looked up and sighed. "I don't...but you can't do anything to me. Whatever you do to me- to hurt me, to try to kill me- it will end up happening to you. If I die, you go with me."

"I'm aware of that, Luigi." Mr. L had a hint of annoyance in his voice. "Shame that I'm a part of the weakest thing on the planet."

Luigi tried his best to stay brave and it did pay off. He started to sound much more like his brother and only because he wanted to protect Daisy.

"I cannot kill you in reality, sadly. However…" Mr. L began to smile again, "Your mind is easy to control. The more stress, the easier it is for me to have more effect in this world. Your dreams…your escape from reality…that is the only way I can dispose of you."

"Then if you want her," Luigi began, "You'll have to kill me first."

Mr. L began to fade away as he spoke. "If that's what it takes."

The picture Mr. L held fell to the floor. Luigi stood up and walked over to the broken pieces of glass. He picked them up, careful not to cut himself. As he picked up the picture, he dropped the glass to the floor.

Mario, Peach, and Daisy were still the same, but Luigi was scratched out of the picture, leaving only a white blob in his place.

* * *

Daisy and Luigi sat down in her room. Daisy kept her legs close to her chest and huddled in a ball-like fashion. Luigi looked at the floor, wondering if he really could do anything. Mr. L was much stronger and he would hurt anyone else if he wanted to. The fact that Luigi was still a part of him was what stopped Mr. L from killing him in the first place.

"Daisy," Luigi said faintly.

Daisy looked over at him. "Yes?"

"I…I'm sorry."

"For what?"

Did he really want to explain Mr. L to her? Would it be worth it? Would she even understand? "I-I'm sorry…f-for…for not protecting you."

"Don't be silly," Daisy managed to smile, "I should have listened to that lousy doctor."

_It's not that,_ he wanted to say, _Mr. L wants you and he'll do anything to have you. _Without the courage to admit it to her, Luigi kept his mouth shut.

"Luigi?"

He looked at her from across the room. "Yes?"

"I'm tired."

They both giggled.

"I think I'll go to sleep too." Luigi stood up and walked over to Daisy.

She pulled the covers over her and looked over at Luigi. They both reached for the lamp on the nightstand next to her bed. "I'll uhh, turn it off, Luigi."

Luigi nodded and walked over to the door. "Goodnight." He smiled.

"Later gator." Daisy saluted. He closed the door and left Daisy alone in her room.

Daisy turned the lamp off and rested her head on the pillow. She closed her eyes and drifted into the darkness of sleep.

* * *

Someone sat down on Daisy's bed, making the bed adjust to the new weight. Her eyes popped open as she jumped up from her position. She came face to face with the same black figure she had seen the day before.

"Don't be scared, darling." The figure moved his hands from her knees to her thighs. She tried to slap his hands away, this time successful.

"Why are you here?" Daisy hissed.

"I just wanted to add some spice to your dull life." He smirked.

_Spice…the darkened thoughts. How does he know?_ "Only my conscious have said that to me. How did you get out of my mind?"

He laughed and put his up in surrender. "Ah, you got me. I'm not your conscious, though."

"Then who are you?" Daisy demanded.

"Your friend, Luigi, is he well?" The figure ignored her question.

Daisy hesitated. "What do you mean?" Her voice was suddenly calm.

"What am I talking about? I've known the man for a year. He's an annoyance."

"No he isn't."

"Always whining, always complaining, always crying…he's worthless."

"Don't you dare call him that!" Daisy prepared to slap the figure.

The figure grabbed her hand and moved it away from his face. He smiled, leaning in closer to her. "Don't hold it back," The figure said seductively, "You know he's worthless."

Daisy stared deeply into the figure's white eyes, while the figure stared into her blue eyes. Her eyes suddenly flashed white and she began to smile.

Luigi jumped up from his bed and ran out the door. He could feel that Daisy was in danger. He ran down the hall, wearing a green shirt and blue pajama shorts.

Daisy's door swung open as Luigi gasped. Daisy shot up from the bed. "Dude, you scared me."

"S-sorry…are y-you o-okay?" He stammered, feeling slightly embarrassed.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry." Daisy reassured.

Luigi gave a small smile and looked into her gleaming white eyes. They both said goodnight and Luigi closed the door.

_Wait…white eyes?!_

He opened the door again and Daisy groaned.

"If you want to sleep here, get a sleeping bag." Daisy's eyes were suddenly their natural color of blue.

Luigi trembled. What did he just see? "N-no. I-It's okay…r-r-really."

"Fine. _Goodnight_, Luigi." Daisy fell back into the pillow.

Luigi closed the door again and headed back towards his room. He toppled over his bed, sighing.

"She's fine. She's fine. Nothing happened, this is just a crazy dream." Luigi said to himself.

_More like a_ nightmare.

* * *

**I think I worked too hard on this one, but I like how it turned out. You get a little taste of the past that Mr. L and Luigi share. Anyway, I started school today, so I'll only be able to post one chapter of one story per day. The weekends is a different subject since I have more time. I hope you like the story so far because I really did beef up the original idea, which, as I've said before, was pretty bland. **

**Click my profile for more stories I've done and leave a comment, review, favorite, follow, whatever, and I will see YOU...in the next update! BYE-BYE!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

The next morning sunrise quickly turned to an afternoon glaze of oranges and yellows. The kingdom was covered in a spectacular array of the mid-sunset. Luigi always had a fascination with the sunset. It was something that attracted him in such a way that even he couldn't understand. The sunsets held such a beauty to them that he couldn't help but admire. As magical as The Mushroom Kingdom was, Luigi found the kingdom's sunsets just a tad more magical.

Mario sat on the thick, sturdy branch of a lone tree by the castle. He looked out over the kingdom, studying it mentally. Sometimes if he closed his eyes, he could still tell where everything in the kingdom was ; from cottage houses to mansions far on the other side of the kingdom. As a boy, he would sit on the same branch and just think for hours at a time. Now, he rarely came here. With the princess, his brother, and the occasional fate of the world resting on his shoulders, he never had time for memories. Memories were just things of the past now and there was never any time for the past.

Luigi stepped out of the castle and made his way towards his brother. He tried to veer his eyes away from the sunset. Mario heard the grass shift to Luigi's movements.

"Don't try to sneak up on me," Mario kept his sights on the kingdom, "I could hear you a mile away."

Luigi looked up and smiled. "I thought you stopped climbing that tree."

"Some things never change, Luigi." Mario looked down and smiled back.

A bird dove past Luigi, making him recoil. The bird soared through the air and circled around Mushroom Castle's tower. It perched itself on the rim of the tower's balcony, cocking its head knowingly at Luigi. He turned away from the bird, reminding himself why he was here.

"Have you ever got the feeling…the feeling you were being watched?" He asked, looking back up at his brother.

"No…why?"

"I just…it's just that…never mind. It's too much to explain."

"That's fine," Mario breathed inwardly, "I'm in the mood for a story anyway."

Utterly confused by Mario's behavior, Luigi looked out into the sunset. He mentally recited what he would say, but he found himself stumbling over ideas. He looked at the clouds forming the sky. Each one was thick and gray. Luigi looked back to Mario and spoke slowly.

"A storm is coming."

Mario looked at the clouds and nodded. "Oh yeah, I guess we should head back inside."

"No, Mario. Mr. L…he's planning something…something that has to do with Daisy."

"But he's you," Mario climbed down the tree, "That makes no sense."

"He's found a way to escape…through…through Daisy. I can't stop him alone though."

Mario looked back at the clouds. His expression was solemn, but it slowly turned. He began to laugh. "You expect me to believe that Mr. L is planning to do something with Daisy?" He smirked at his brother.

Luigi was obviously not amused by this and stepped back. "Well…yes! You have to, I'm telling the truth!"

"What truth? This is all in your head. You're seeing things; hearing things…maybe you've gone insane."

"I'm not insane!" Luigi exclaimed, stomping his foot on the ground. "Why don't you believe me?"

"What is there to believe? Mr. L was just there once and was left in your mind. That's it. Maybe you're just seeing him again, but he's not real."

Luigi prepared himself to shout, but he held it in. The storm clouds drew closer to the kingdom and from a distance, he could see lightning bolts.

"You never listen to me." Luigi said softly. Mario chose not to reply, letting Luigi continue. "You never listen to me, you never heed my warnings, and you never acknowledge what I have to say. When I say I'm telling the truth, I'm telling the truth. If I have to keep Daisy safe on my own, I'll do it…I just thought that for once…that we could work as a team. But I guess you're better with me as your sidekick."

Mario sighed, but didn't speak. He walked towards the castle doors, leaving Luigi alone. The thunder sounded miles away, but it felt so close. Luigi looked back up at the balcony. The bird squawked loudly at him and flew off into the clouds.

* * *

Daisy walked to the tower's balcony with Peach by her side. The sun had begun descending towards the west. The north skies were clouded by storm clouds heading straight for the kingdom. Daisy held a telescope in her hand and focused on her kingdom far north. She could only see some ruins, but nothing else. It looked colorless and empty. At least the aliens wouldn't dare attack now.

"Your father has suggested you return home in a month or two. It may be a while until your kingdom is the same again." Peach stated.

"The kingdom won't be the same again, Peachy. Everything was built back when mom was alive. Without her," Daisy moved the telescope away from her face, "The kingdom won't look or be the same…at all."

Peach sighed softly. She panned around the kingdom, leaving Daisy in silence.

After a few moments, Peach turned back to Daisy. "The kingdom was built in a time of love. That is all you need."

"What are you saying?"

"Daisy, I'm not trying to force you, but…I believe it's high time you find someone special. Someone capable of giving the same love that your parents had."

Daisy stepped back. "Are you telling me that I have to marry someone to rebuild the kingdom?" She had a sudden sharp tone in her voice.

"Now, Daisy…"

"NO!" Daisy's voice danced across the scale, "I don't need your stupid advice! The kingdom is mine, not yours! You don't know what it's like to almost lose your kingdom! Now you're telling me to get _married_? What is wrong with you?"

Peach tried to apologize, but Daisy had stormed off back to her room.

* * *

Slamming the door behind her, Daisy toppled over her bed. She hid her face in the pillows, screaming softly. Thunder sounded outside, making the castle slightly vibrate. A figure manifested itself and sat down next to Daisy.

"Shame," He shook his head, "The pink one thinks she knows everything about you."

Daisy shot up and glared at the figure. It looked much more defined and almost…human. "She doesn't. She doesn't know anything about what I've gone through."

"Exactly!" The figure stood up and walked over to the window. The outside was slowly turning dark and heavy rain began to pour. "A storm is coming, darling."

Daisy stood up and walked over to the figure. She stared out into the world. "I know…" Her voice trailed off as she looked to the figure.

"Let's start it together."

* * *

**Alright everybody, that's Chapter 6! We are nearing the end of this story and since we are, I'm going to ask you a question!**

**What do you think is going to happen in the end?**

**We know that Luigi is NOT insane (bug off, Mario) and we know that Daisy is fine with whatever Mr. L says (the figure, if you didn't _figure _it out XD, man I failed) and we also know that whatever happens to Mr. L happens to Luigi and vice versa. So, what do you think will happen in the end? Leave a comment!**

**Click my profile for more stories by me. Leave a comment, review, favorite, follow, whatever, and I will see YOU...in the next update! BYE-BYE!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Mr. L had to remain on Daisy's good side. Even with her partially in his control, she could still break free if he did something wrong. He never planned ahead and always took the punches as they came, normally ending up on top. With the drama of the princesses unfolding, he came to an idea. Princess pink-dress told Daisy to find a husband and that would be the key to fixing the kingdom. Daisy, not pleased with this suggestion, stormed back to her room in a sudden rage. Mr. L decided that since pinky never experienced what it's like to almost lose your kingdom and die during such attacks, there would be a little surprise for her. A surprise so good, it would be like a dream. A dream that she would never wake up from. A storm to destroy the castle. A storm, that they would start together.

Mr. L also watched Luigi from afar. A dove had come his way and he decided that he could use the innocent bird to his dark advantage. Turning the bird into a watchful eye, he sent it out to find what Luigi was doing. Without lifting a finger, Luigi was already in a slump, since his brother thought he was insane for thinking that Mr. L could have possibly escaped.

Everything was going perfectly.

The rain poured down from above. The skies were now black, making the lightning its only source of light. The air was thick, making it extremely hard to breathe. The castle doors were locked well, to keep the pelting rain from flooding inside. Daisy took the skeleton key from the high cabinet in the reading room. She opened the balcony doors, leading to the broken balcony on the side of the castle. She could see the entire town from here. Everything was pitch black with the exceptions of some light posts and lights coming from the inside of people's houses. The rain was heavy, but Daisy trudged through it, her white eyes showing determination.

"The cannons are all lined up in a row. There are only five, but if we set them off in a different direction, then we can hit the entire kingdom with only a few shots." Daisy knelt down to one of the cannons overlooking the kingdom. They were old since the kingdom announced eternal peace and pledging to never start wars with some. They were fully functional, so once the two loaded them, they would destroy everything in a matter of seconds.

"Good, darling. Perfect." Mr. L stroked Daisy's wet hair, "You're showing much confidence."

"Because I am confident." Daisy smiled at him and headed for the Bullet Bills. All of them were neatly stacked up in one large pyramid. She took the top one, but another slid, making a loud crash on the balcony floor.

"Shh!" He hissed, "No one can know we are here!"

"Sorry."

The loud crash sounded through the third floor of the castle, since the balcony was directly above it. Luigi kicked Daisy's door open. The light was off and the room was filled with nothing but darkness. He flicked the light on, but the power soon went out. His heart raced- he hated the dark. "Daisy?" He called, hoping she was simply hiding in her room. He was the only one in the room and he quickly ran towards the window. Lighting flashed, making him step back in fear. He closed his eyes, trying desperately to see what Mr. L saw. Their minds were still connected in a way, making them have the ability to see what the other saw.

Luigi took mental notes of the surrounding. _Broken bricks, a soaked rug, five cannons lined perfectly in a circular row, and...white eyes. _Lightning flashed once again, this time accompanied by a roaring thunder. Luigi lost his train of thought and he tried to recall a place that matched his little description.

_The broken balcony._

* * *

The King remained quiet for the majority of the week. Princess Peach tried her best to comfort him, but he would barely speak. Mario was known for being quiet most of the time, but Peach was never used to it. He would normally reply to everything someone said, but he didn't speak much to the princess or anyone for that matter.

Peach lit a fire in the library. The castle had lost all power. This storm was strangely stronger than the other storms that the kingdom had faced. However, this brought about no suspicion; nature was unpredictable, after all.

The princess lit a candle and walked around the halls, looking for Mario. The servants remained in one place while others were sleeping. Assuming that Daisy had fallen asleep, Peach pasted her room without bothering to peak in. Daisy was probably upset at Peach anyway, so why bother to start an argument now? There was no point- Daisy wouldn't stop until she made it clear that Peach was wrong and she was right...even if Peach was right. It was her stubborn attitude that controlled her and Peach knew that it worked to Daisy's advantage sometimes.

Lightning flashed and thunder accompanied it seconds later. The candle's flame flickered and Peach cupped her hand close around the flame, to assure that it would not go out.

Mario looked out the window in one of the many halls. Rain seeped through tiny cracks in the old window. Thunder boomed outside, making the castle vibrate a bit. Out of the corner of his eye, Mario could see a light flame approaching him from a distance. The figure holding the lighted candle stick appeared to be a grown man. With nothing to fear, Mario made no movements and directed his vision back to the window.

"I never took the time to realize that Daisy had such destructive friends." The Sarsaland King walked closer to Mario, "Then again, I never took the time to realize much about my daughter. But you...you have helped me."

At first, he did not speak, leaving the king to talk in peace, but after he had made his statement, Mario pondered a response.

"Helped you...how?" He heard himself say. The only thing that Mario had ever done for the king was destroy almost the remainder of his kingdom and almost kill his daughter. He didn't consider himself much of a hero after that.

"To look again. To realize that I never spent enough time with my daughter. That I never took the time to ask how her day was or how she was doing. I never took the time out of my busy schedule to actually be a parent. I suppose with the sudden shock of my only child about to...pass...I rethought my actions. I took the time to look again."

"...Because of me?"

The king smiled. "Because of you."

Peach stood close to the two. She walked towards them slowly. "I'm sorry...am I interrupting?"

The two turned to her. The king shook his head. "No, not at all."

"I just wanted to make sure that all was okay. The storm is becoming quite destructive. Winds are picking up as well, but I suppose it will all mellow down."

"Hopefully it will." The king smiled.

Peach nodded at the two and closed the door, leaving it open just a crack. Once they heard the sound of her footsteps go faint, they turned back to the window.

"Again, I thank you, Master Mario."

"Please, just...just call me Mario."

The king headed down the hall, towards another room. Mario stood by the window. Thunder roared and he heard a shrill scream come from the outside. He recognized the voice that made this blood curdling cry. It was...

"Daisy."

He didn't bother to grab a jacket. The king followed minutes behind him as he made his way towards the loud, distant, sobbing.

**Minutes Before**

The door was kicked open. Luigi stepped out into the rain, automatically getting drenched. Daisy aimed the fifth cannon a few degrees up. Mr. L turned to Luigi, smiling.

"So, the insane little brother has decided to join the party, now has he?"

Luigi balled his fists and ran straight up to Mr. L. Daisy paid no attention to the two. Luigi aimed for Mr. L's face but he ducked out of the way, appearing behind Luigi with ease. Pushing him down to the floor, Mr. L laughed. "You've lost your sense to fight, haven't you? Romance has made you a complete waste of matter."

Luigi forced himself to get up, digging his fingers into the rug. He stood up and prepared to punch his counterpart again. Mr. L grabbed Luigi by the shirt and threw him down on the ground. They both let out a cry of pain. Mr. L forgot that whatever he did to Luigi would happen to him. Careful no to kill him, Mr. L took Luigi and tossed him back towards the door. Luigi coughed and grabbed his sore arm. Daisy turned back to him, not aware of what she was doing. Her eyes were still white and blank. Luigi suddenly realized, _She has no idea what she's doing._

Lightning bolts were getting dangerously close to the castle. Lightning shocked a window on the top tower of the castle. The electrical shock made the window break. Glass rained down around Luigi. The edges were sharp enough to cut his flesh with ease.

Mr. L grabbed Daisy's hand and she stood up. They turned back to him. "The play is reaching it's final scene, Luigi. It's time to go out with a bang."

"Daisy!" Luigi breathed, cringing with pain. "Don't do this! I beg of you, please!"

She did not reply and instead turned back to the cannons. Mr. L took out a match.

Luigi thought quickly. There was only one way to stop Mr. L for good. But...there must of been a different way. He looked towards the sharp pieces of glass. He took a deep breath and crawled over to the largest piece of broken glass he could find.

Mr. L lit the match and covered it from the rain with his hand. "You'll pay for what you did to me, Luigi. You'll pay for everything." He turned back to Luigi, who was standing tall and walking closer to the two.

"What's the point, weakling?" Mr. L scoffed, "I'm stronger than you and I will live much longer than you. There's nothing you can do to stop me. I've already won."

Luigi held the broken glass and gripped it tightly with one hand. "You won't live longer than me."

"Explain while you still can." Mr. L held the match closer to a cannon.

"Because you have nothing to live for!"

With that, Luigi thrust the sharp glass deep into his stomach, making him cry out in pain. Mr. L fell down, his hands covered in blood. "No...NO!"

Luigi knelt down, with his blood covering his entire body. His vision began to fade, but he saw Mr. L doubled over in pain, almost dead. Luigi pulled the glass out of his body and they both yelled once again. Luigi threw the glass to the side and fell to the ground. He covered his stomach with his hand, crying softly. Mr. L tried to crawl over to him, but he fell down. His mouth gaping open and his body motionless. He was gone now...he was gone forever...

The match went out. Daisy blinked as her eyes suddenly turned blue again. Her head pounded as she looked around. Lighting struck and she saw everything perfectly for a few minutes. She saw both Mr. L and Luigi motionless on the ground. She gasped and ran over to Luigi, cradling him in her arms.

He coughed a bit of blood and moved his hand towards her face, his eyes barely open. Daisy held him closer. "Luigi...LUIGI!"

He breathed once more and turned away from her glance. Daisy tried to turn his face back to hers, but he wouldn't respond. She let out a loud cry of fear. "HELP! PLEASE!"

She couldn't move. Fear struck her entire body. She forced herself to get up, but her body wouldn't let her.

Mario and the king opened the door. The king held a lantern and Mario gasped.

"Please!" Daisy began to cry heavily, "Please help me!"

* * *

**That was chapter 7. Now, I know that was quite the surprise twist of events, but that was the only way to get rid of Mr. L for good.**

**Extreme? Yes.**

**Suspected? I bet not.**

**Unneeded? Perhaps.**

**The ending, you ask? There will be two. One will the logical ending and another will be the romantic ending. Since I don't have the heart to end on one sad note, I'm going to end on one sad note AND one happy note. **

**When will they be up? Soon. I have to write both of them AND release them at the same time along with the credits. So, expect it to be out much later tomorrow (1/12/13) **

**Click my profile for more stories by me. If you liked this chapter or the story so far, feel free to follow for an update for when I update. Leave a comment, review, favorite, feel free to PM me if you want something OR want to know something, and I will see YOU...in the next update! BYE-BYE!**


	8. Chapter 8-1 (Logical Ending)

**Warning: Cursing and some blood**

* * *

**Chapter 8-1**

**Logical Ending**

Once again, the world was quiet. The news spread quickly around the castle. A trail of blood led out of the balcony and towards Daisy's room. The king and Mario began asking frantic questions about Luigi.

"I don't know!" Daisy exclaimed.

The king set the lantern down on a nightstand. Mario quickly lit candles around the room, setting a dim light.

Peach walked in, gasping at the sight. "What happened?!"

Daisy raised her voice, almost screeching. "I DON'T KNOW! I DON'T…."

Thunder boomed, making everyone go silent. Peach stiffened and ran down the halls to get the doctor. Daisy turned back to Luigi and walked closer to him. She put her hand on his chest, almost expecting a normal pulse. It was getting gradually slow with every passing second. The king walked to her and put a hand on her shoulder.

She turned around to him and dug her face into his chest, crying. "I don't know what I did…I don't remember…I…" He hushed her.

The doctor stepped in. "Bloody hell!"

"Please," Peach pushed him forward, "We need all the help we can get."

The doctor stepped closer to Luigi. "I'll try. I need electricity, though."

Peach nodded.

"And some privacy."

Mario walked out of the room, making his way down the halls. Peach followed after him. The doctor looked up to the king. "I'm sorry, but I need to…"

"Come with me, child." The king grabbed Daisy, but she moved away from his grip.

"I'm not going. He was there for me and I'm going to be right there for him."

"But let the doctor do his work."

"NO! Daddy, I'm going to stay right here."

"It's fine," The doctor grabbed a moist rag. "She can help me."

The king huffed. "Very well, please be careful, child."

Daisy nodded and the king left the room. She turned back to the doctor. "What do I have to do?"

"Take his shirt off."

"Wh-what?"

"Do you want to help me or not?"

"Of course."

"Then do as I say."

Daisy took a breath and lifted the sides of his shirt. His chest was pale and entirely covered in blood. The doctor wiped the blood off his chest around the deep wound.

"How will that help?" Daisy asked. "He's…he's practically dead. I don't think the blood matters."

"Ho ho! Your boyfriend here is only MOSTLY dead. There's a big difference between mostly dead and all dead. Mostly dead is slightly alive. With all dead, well, there's only one thing to do."

"What's that?"

"Go through his clothes and look for loose change."

Daisy uttered something foul under her breath and crossed her arms.

"Get the cloth and wrap it around the wound. I'll be right back." The doctor ran down the halls to his quarters.

She did as she was told and waited for the doctor to return. She held Luigi's hand tightly, but he did not respond.

* * *

Mario ran past an orange flower. He pricked his finger on one of its thorns, making the top part of his finger bleed. As the chemicals on the flower ran through his blood, he quickly snapped his fingers. Little flames circled around Mario's hand, appearing in a ball.

"The levers that control the castle's lights are right here." Peach felt for the levers on the ground. Mario walked over to her and grabbed the lever.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Peach shrugged at his question.

Mario rolled his eyes and pulled the lever back. The lights in the castle flickered. He pulled the lever once again and the all the lights turned on.

With both of them happy the mission was a success; they ran back up the stairs to the halls. However, the door was locked, leaving them outside. Mario yelled in frustration. He fell back on the chair. "I'm a horrible person."

"Mario…"

"No!" He glared at her, his hands lighting up in flames. "I'm not the same. I would always listen to him and be careful, but now…I'm not even listening to myself."

Peach sat down next to him. "It's okay, Mario. I'm more than sure that Luigi will be fine. It's not your fault."

Mario sighed. "First Daisy…now it's my own brother…my own damn brother. I have no idea what it'll take for me to just…stop."

"But you couldn't do anything to help it. Whatever happened to Luigi before this, well, you weren't aware of it."

"He told me, but I thought he was crazy. He wanted me to help him, but I didn't believe him."

"Oh." All she could say was _oh_. Now that she had thought about it, Mario did change. He never listened to what some had to say and he just went on his own. He did what he wanted to do and it cost him.

Mario looked out towards the window. The rain had stopped and the sun was beginning to rise.

* * *

Daisy hovered around the doctor, forcing him to ask her to step back. He took an egg in his hand. Daisy questioned his actions but he simply replied, "I'm the doctor here, not you."

She frowned and watched him smash the egg on the ground. Once again, she questioned his actions.

"What's that supposed to do?"

And once again, he replied: "I'm the doctor here, not you."

Daisy huffed and looked outside the window. The doctor began to set up the beeping heart monitor that Daisy had despised listening to in her mind. A strange sense of déjà vu hit her as she listened to the slow beat of the machine.

The doctor opened the door. "That's all I can do."

Mario shot up and looked into the room. Luigi was still motionless. "Are…are you sure that's _all_ you can do?"

"I've tried normal treatments, superstitious treatments, some weird voodoo that my old cousin back in Rogueport taught me…I've even tried to use that stupid 'clap-on clap-off' method that my mom used to try on me to wake me up. He's out like a light, but he's still alive." The doctor looked at his clipboard, "The good news is that he can speak and he is trying to make a recovery."

Mario nodded and gently pushed the doctor out of the way. He took careful steps towards his still brother. Daisy turned to face him, their eyes met for a brief second, and they looked in their own directions.

Peach took deep breaths. She couldn't stand to see another one of her friends hurt. She stood up, breathed again, and walked away, without another word. Nor Mario or Daisy objected to this, but they still thought it was weird.

"I'm sorry, okay."

Daisy turned to Mario again and looked at him with suspicion. "What?"

"I'm sorry for almost killing you, Daisy. I'm sorry for not believing you, Luigi. I'm sorry for all the horrifying things that I've done. If anything, you two didn't deserve to suffer, I did."

"Mario, please. There's no use for that."

"But I'm serious."

"It's…not…your…fault…" Luigi's voice whispered. Daisy ran closer to him, leaning over his weak body.

"Luigi?" Daisy stood over him. Mario looked over at them. "Sweetie, can you hear me?"

His eyes twitched open and he was welcomed with what looked like a wonderful sunset. The oranges and the yellows blended perfectly together. It was so beautiful, like magic. As his vision cleared up, he could see Daisy's face perfectly.

"Da…Dais…Daisy?" He coughed and moved his hand to hers. "I…I…need to…need to t-tell you…tell you something."

"What? What is it? Tell me, tell me now, please." Daisy's vision began to blur with tears.

The heart monitor beeped louder, but at a much slower pace. Mario kept his eyes on the machine, glaring at it and hoping it would speed up.

"I…" The machine began to slow down, "love…love…" It reached a snail's pace, "you…so much."

Daisy leaned closer to him and wrapped her arms around him, feeling his cold, bare chest against her warm body. "I love you too. Please, don't go…please stay…I love you. I want you to stay with me, please!"

_Beeeeep_

Daisy's eyes widened in fear. "No…no, no…PLEASE! DEAR LORD, NO!"

Mario kicked the machine in hopes that it would work again. It remained still, with only a straight green line across its screen. "Come on you fucking machine! Come on…" His voice trailed off as he began to cry.

Peach stepped in, cheeks wet with tears. "Is…is it over?"

She walked deeper into the room and put her hand on Daisy's shoulder. "Daisy…"

Daisy sharply turned around to face Peach and she hissed. "DON'T WASTE YOUR BREATH, PEACH. HE'S GONE! HE'S DEAD, HE'S…" Daisy held tighter onto Luigi's hand. "He's…he's…"

Mario sniffled. "Come on, I think we should go." He walked over to Peach and gently grabbed her arm. She moved away.

"No, I can't leave Daisy in here by herself," Peach whispered, "She might do something to herself."

"Come on." Mario growled.

Peach ignored him and tried to pull Daisy away from Luigi. Daisy held tighter onto his hand. "I'm not going anywhere! Leave me alone!"

"Leave her alone, Peach!"

"Daisy, you're coming with us!"

Daisy shot up and slapped Peach in the face. Peach fell down in fear, holding her cheek and began to cry again. Mario knelt down to her, holding her body. Daisy covered her mouth and gasped. "I'm sorry. I…I just."

"No," Peach interjected, "I understand," She stood up and bowed. "Stay here as long as you want, but you'll have to face reality eventually." She stormed out of the room.

Mario walked closer to Daisy. "Take your time." He gave her the tiniest smile and left the room quietly.

Daisy turned back to Luigi. She angrily unhooked the blaring machine and knelt down to the height of the bed. She patted his hand and held it to her face.

"Soon…soon we'll be together again. Very soon. Sooner than you think and sooner than I know…I promise I'll be back."

She leaned in closer to him and whispered in his ear.

"Don't forget me."

* * *

**And that was the Logical Ending. This is for all those people that want logic to rule the day because I stated that whatever happens to Mr. L happens to Luigi, so I:**

**A) Have to stick to that.**

**B) I thought this would be a better outcome than what I originally thought.**

**This ending is still pretty romantic and is pretty strong, but I'm posting both the logical ending AND the happily ever after.**

**But that will be up tomorrow. Or later tonight. **

**I just have to copy paste the first half of this and adjust it, but that'll take half an hour because I still need to write it, so...yeah.**

**Don't worry, babs. I'm a girl that loves romance and is still in junior high. I'm not killing Luigi off entirely. Why? **

**CAUSE THERE'S GONNA BE A PREQUEL!**

**Check my profile for the intro and whatnot and it should be out tomorrow. **

**And I'm sorry for the cliff hanger before. It sucked, but...what are you gonna do? Cliff hangers are cliff hangers and I love ending a story in quotes. **

**If you're not going to be joining me for the credits, (they should be up after this cause this is the original ending I wanted) or the other ending, then thanks for reading and leave your final reviews below! And I seriously recommend sticking around for the credits. **

**And if you don't understand the whole "circle" thing I did at the end where Daisy is like: "I promise I'll be back. Don't forget me." I suggest you look back at the beginning of chapter 4. Luigi said this before and her saying it in this chapter just proves that she could hear what he said. **

**Again, thanks for reading. Cheers :)**


	9. Credits and Special Thanks

**Credits, Special Thanks, and Final Author's Notes-**

_Buffering_ is one of my most popular stories on here and I cannot thank you enough for the support.

Well, my second most popular story. The first being_ Broken Hearts and Playing Cards,_ but that was my first shot and I got lucky enough to have tons of reviews.

But I don't consider Playing Cards to be one of my stories. I consider it as a side project._ Buffering_, however, is one of my bigger projects and I loved how it turned out. It was my first full-length story that I just thought of on the spot and when I got the reviews to continue, I was amazed.

My original idea, as I said, was bland. I'm not afraid to admit that.

**Original idea**:

Daisy falls in a coma (possibly an attack of some sort)

She's locked in her mind and meets Mr. L, who is locked in Luigi's mind (work out kinks on how their minds connect)

After waking up, she becomes like Mr. L in different ways, but is still Daisy at heart.

Luigi has to help her before she creates a more destructive Bro Bot (work out kinks)

And that was my original idea. I listened to a song and came up with that on the spot. No joke.

After a few days, I changed it around to make Mr. L able to sneak into Daisy's mind since she's in a coma. I made him want her, but Luigi stands in his way. After a while, I came up with the "what happens to one, happens to the other" idea and later on, the broken glass stab…that being the only way Luigi could rid the world of Mr. L for good.

I asked my friends if they like happy endings or sad endings. They didn't care enough to vote, so I thought that a sad but romantic ending would be in order. It would be strong and make the reader want more, but the reader would also be satisfied with what they read. Unless you aren't satisfied…that's a different story, though.

Once I wrote the ending to Buffering, I realized that I didn't provide much explanation to why Mario never listened to his brother anymore, or why the king needed to "take another look at his daughter", or why Luigi called himself insane.

_Play_ is going to be the prequel to_ Buffering._ But I'm not going to spoil much of that story for you now. Check my profile for more info on that.

**Time for the credits:**

Images: (1-up mushroom in a nice lighted area) Google Images

Inspiration: (beginning) _Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3_ (middle) _Paranormal Activity 1_ (ending) _Law and Order_ (believe it or not)

Characters: Nintendo

Quotes not by me: "Your friend is only MOSTLY dead..." - Miracle Max (_The Princess Bride_, 1997)

Thanks to my friends who got me off my big fat…booty…and made me actually write this. You guys are awesome.

**Special Thanks to:**

My reviewers and readers who stuck with me through this story. I hope you guys are happy.

Thanks to everyone for all the support and I will see YOU…in the next story!

Or in the happily ever after…

BYE-BYE!


	10. Chapter 8-2 (Happily Ever After)

**Chapter 8-2**

**Happily Ever After**

Once again, the world was quiet. The news spread quickly around the castle. A trail of blood led out of the balcony and towards Daisy's room. The king and Mario began asking frantic questions about Luigi.

"I don't know!" Daisy exclaimed.

The king sent the lantern down on a nightstand. Mario quickly lit candles around the room, setting a dim light.

Peach walked in, gasping at the sight. "What happened?!"

Daisy raised her voice, almost screeching. "I DON'T KNOW! I DON'T…."

Thunder boomed, making everyone go silent. Peach stiffened and ran down the halls to get the doctor. Daisy turned back to Luigi and walked closer to him. She put her hand on his chest, almost expecting a normal pulse. It was getting gradually slow with every passing second. The king walked to her and put a hand on her shoulder.

She turned around to him and dug her face into his chest, crying. "I don't know what I did…I don't remember…I…" He hushed her.

The doctor stepped in. "Bloody hell!"

"Please," Peach pushed him forward, "We need all the help we can get."

The doctor stepped closer to Luigi. "I'll try. I need electricity, though."

Peach nodded.

"And some privacy."

Mario walked out of the room, making his way down the halls. Peach followed after him. The doctor looked up to the king. "I'm sorry, but I need to…"

"Come with me, child." The king grabbed Daisy, but she moved away from his grip.

"I'm not going. He was there for me and I'm going to be right there for him."

"But let the doctor do his work."

"NO! Daddy, I'm going to stay right here."

"It's fine," The doctor grabbed a moist rag. "She can help me."

The king huffed. "Very well, please be careful, child."

Daisy nodded and the king left the room. She turned back to the doctor. "What do I have to do?"

"Take his shirt off."

"Wh-what?"

"Do you want to help me or not?"

"Of course."

"Then do as I say."

Daisy took a breath and lifted the sides of his shirt. His chest was pale and covered it blood entirely. The doctor wiped the blood off his chest around the deep wound.

"How will that help?" Daisy asked. "He's…he's practically dead. I don't think the blood matters."

"Ho ho! Your boyfriend here is only MOSTLY dead. There's a big difference between mostly dead and all dead. Mostly dead is slightly alive. With all dead, well, there's only one thing to do."

"What's that?"

"Go through his clothes and look for loose change."

Daisy uttered something foul under her breath and crossed her arms.

"Get the cloth and wrap it around the wound. I'll be right back." The doctor ran down the halls to his quarters.

She did as she was told and waited for the doctor to return. She held Luigi's hand tightly, but he did not respond.

* * *

Mario ran past an orange flower. He pricked his finger on one of its thorns, making the top part of his finger bleed. As the chemicals on the flower ran through his blood, he quickly snapped his fingers. Little flames circled around Mario's hand, appearing in a ball.

"The levers that control the castle's lights are right here." Peach felt for the levers on the ground. Mario walked over to her and grabbed the lever.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Peach shrugged at his question.

Mario rolled his eyes and pulled the lever back. The lights in the castle flickered. He pulled the lever once again and the all the lights turned on.

With both of them happy the mission was a success; they ran back up the stairs to the halls.

However, the door was locked, leaving them outside. Mario yelled in frustration. He fell back on the chair. "I'm a horrible person."

"Mario…"

"No!" He glared at her, his hands lighting up. "I'm not the same. I would always listen to him and be careful, but now…I'm not even listening to myself."

Peach sat down next to him. "It's okay, Mario. I'm more than sure that Luigi will be fine. It's not your fault."

Mario sighed. "First Daisy…now it's my own brother…my own damn brother. I have no idea what it'll take for me to just…stop."

"But you couldn't do anything to help it. Whatever happened to Luigi before this, well, you weren't aware of it."

"He told me, but I thought he was crazy. He wanted me to help him, but I didn't believe him."

"Oh." All she could say was _oh_. Now that she had thought about it, Mario did change. He never listened to what some had to say and he just went on his own. He did what he wanted to do and it cost him.

Mario looked out towards the window. The rain had stopped and the sun was beginning to rise.

* * *

Daisy hovered around the doctor, forcing him to ask her to step back. He took an egg in his hand. Daisy questioned his actions but he simply replied, "I'm the doctor here, not you."

She frowned and watched him smash the egg on the ground. Once again, she questioned his actions.

"What's that supposed to do?"

And once again, he replied: "I'm the doctor here, not you."

Daisy huffed and looked outside the window. The doctor began to set up the beeping machine that Daisy despised listening to in her mind. A strange sense of déjà vu hit her as she listened to the slow beat of the machine.

The doctor opened the door. "That's all I can do."

Mario shot up and looked into the room. Luigi was still motionless. "Are…are you sure that's _all_ you can do?"

"I've tried normal treatments, superstitious treatments, some weird voodoo that my old cousin back in Rogueport taught me…I've even tried to use that stupid 'clap-on clap-off' method that my mom used to try on me to wake me up. He's out like a light, but he's still alive." The doctor looked at his clipboard, "He can hear and move certain parts of his body, but he doesn't really speak."

Mario nodded and gently pushed the doctor out of the way. He took careful steps towards his still brother. Daisy turned to face him, their eyes met for a brief second, and they looked in their own directions.

Peach took deep breaths. She couldn't stand to see another one of her friends hurt. She stood up, breathed again, and walked away, without another word. Nor Mario or Daisy objected to this, but they still thought it was weird.

"I'm sorry, okay."

Daisy turned to Mario again and looked at him with suspicion. "What?"

"I'm sorry for almost killing you, Daisy. I'm sorry for not believing you, Luigi. I'm sorry for all the horrifying things that I've done. If anything, you two didn't deserve to suffer, I did."

"Mario, please. There's no use for that."

"But I'm serious."

"It's…not…your…fault…" Luigi's voice whispered. Daisy ran closer to him, leaning over his weak body.

"Luigi?" Daisy stood over him. Mario looked over at them. "Sweetie, can you hear me?"

His eyes twitched open and he was welcomed with what looked like a wonderful sunset. The oranges and the yellows blended perfectly together. It was so beautiful, like magic. As his vision cleared up, he could see Daisy's face perfectly.

"Dais…Daisy?" He blinked.

"Yes, yes, it's me." Daisy put a gentle hand on his bare chest. "Luigi, darling!" She wrapped her arms around him and lifted his head.

"Gently."

"I see you again and all you can say is that?"

"Gently!" She let go of his head and it hit the frame of the bed. "AGH!"

"Sorry."

Luigi looked over at Mario. "You need to stop blaming yourself."

Mario walked closer to him. "I didn't believe you and it almost cost me your life. I think now's a logical time to blame myself."

"Yes, but…"

"But I never listened to you," Mario cut him off, "And I don't want you to think that I just want you to be my sidekick. I understood what you said and I'm sorry…"

"I know what I said!" Luigi rolled his eyes. "You are such a sap."

Peach walked in and gasped. "Luigi…you're…you're well?"

Daisy ran over to Peach and hugged her. "It's wonderful, isn't it?"

"Yes, yes…" Peach was in utter shock. She walked closer to him and managed to smile. "Are you…?"

"I'm fine, thanks for asking."

"Oh…"

Mario pulled Peach to the side. "At least he's well and…alive."

"Of course he is…I never doubted it." Mario scoffed.

Peach smirked and crossed her arms. "Uh-huh."

She walked over to the door. "Well, I think we should really give him some rest."

Mario agreed and turned back to his brother. He smiled a goodbye to both Luigi and Daisy and left the room with Peach.

Daisy closed the door and grabbed a chair. She sat down next to Luigi. "I'm glad you're safe."

"I'm glad _you're _safe."

She took his hand. "It's a miracle that you're here, you know that?"

"It's because I have something…something to live for."

"Like what?"

He smiled and moved his hand away from hers. He tried to lift himself up, setting his back on the back board of the bed. "Well…you."

Daisy giggled and shook her head. "Luigi…"

"Let me finish," She hushed herself and let him continue, "I'm still alive because I have something to live for. That's you."

Daisy felt herself blush as he looked at her with gleaming blue eyes that made her heart race.

"Daisy, I love you."

He had finally said the three words that had always caused him trouble in the past. He had said those very three words without a single stagger. With little hesitation, Daisy responded.

"I love you too."

They leaned in closer to each other, their lips almost colliding with a passion. Luigi suddenly recoiled in pain. He leaned back on the back board and rubbed his side. Daisy smiled and turned his head back to hers. She kissed both her index and middle fingers and pressed them gently against Luigi's lips. He suddenly felt light-headed as the morning sun shone brightly on them.

Peach quickly stepped back in and apologized for the interruption. "Your father wants to see you, Daisy."

Daisy nodded and quickly caressed Luigi's face before leaving the room with Peach.

"What does my father want?" Daisy tried her best not to sound rude.

"I'm not sure. He simply said he wanted to talk to you."

Daisy glanced down at the tiles on the castle ground that passed by her as she walked. "Peach?"

"Yes?"

"Remember what you said…about finding that someone that can provide the same love that my parents had?"

"Yes…yes I do."

"I…I think that maybe, it wasn't a bad idea."

Peach looked at her friend with suspicion. "Why is that?"

"Because I think that I might of found that someone."

As the girls made their way towards the king's room, they didn't speak another word. The silence was now common in the castle, but everyone hoped it would soon change. With the only mysterious threat now gone for good, there was no reason to fear.

Everything was just a thing of the past and now it was time to make room for the present.

* * *

**Man, I stink at happily ever afters...Wait...I forgot ONE KEY thing to a happily ever after.**

* * *

And they all lived happily ever after.

The end.

* * *

**Okay and that was the happy note of the ending. The original ending was going just to be that Luigi dies and that's it (Chapter 8-1, if you want to read that) but since I wrote enough sad endings to stories where Luigi:**

**A) Kills himself**

**B) Dies due to an attack**

**C) Spontaneously combusted (explodes)**

**I thought it was about time I let the reader chose. **

**Oh and the whole explosion fan fiction thing where Luigi explodes...that was written when I was 5...I'm never going to speak of it again.**

**NEVER**

**I'm not posting it either, so don't get your hopes up. **

**I love Luigi as much as Peach loves pink, but in most of my stories, he's always getting beat up or damaged and left in critical condition. I don't know why...ironic, huh?**

**But, he always gets the girl in the end. **

**This was a weak happily ever after, so I won't mind if you bash me on this one, but the logical ending was much more complex...I think. YOU DECIDE!...Cause I really don't know. I just liked the logical ending better.**

**Some inspiration for this story comes from _The Princess Bride_ (1987, not 97, my sorries). **

**_Play_ will be up after I post this chapter so just hang tight! I'm going to post the first chapter and I'll do the next chapter the next day, so I'll be busy. **

**I'm glad to turn the switch to COMPLETE on this story and I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it! **

**Leave your final reviews for me below and I will see YOU...in _Play_! BYE-BYE!**


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